STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ

RE: Shooting Death of Four-Year Old Lloyd Morgan

“I am deeply saddened by last night’s incident in Morrisania, where four-year old Lloyd Morgan fell victim to gun violence while playing at a playground where his family and neighbors were enjoying a basketball game and barbecue. My heart goes out to his family through this difficult time as we keep little Lloyd Morgan in our prayers.   These senseless acts being committed in our borough, and in fact across the City and nation must stop.  It is disappointing that our residents can’t relax on a Sunday without fearing their life will be taken by a thug’s bullet. My office will continue to work to take as many illegal guns off of our streets as we possibly can.

I urge all Bronxites with knowledge of illegal guns in their community to call 866-GUN-STOP to anonymously report those guns to the police, a program that my office continues to promote through our ‘Peace in our Streets’ campaign,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

More information on the 866-GUN-STOP program can be found at the following link:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/home/rewards.shtml


Statement from Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo

First and foremost I wish to convey my deepest condolences to the Morgan family for the tragic death of 4 year old Lloyd Morgan. While no words can erase their pain, we must come together as a community and stand together to comfort and support the Morgan family during this difficult time.

I hope that anyone with any information about the individuals or groups responsible for this tragedy come forward and help law enforcement in their efforts for a expeditious investigation and arrest. If anyone has information, I urge them to call 1800 577 TIPS (8477).

Lastly, as the media discusses this case in relation to the debate over stop and frisk policies, it is my hope that our continuous pleas for reform will not get distorted into something they are not. We must proactively use every tool to address illegal guns and criminal behavior in all communities, but tools must be used appropriately. The numbers related to stop and frisk do not support the theory that it has been used effectively or that it has deterred the use of illegal guns.

We welcome and are always willing to partner with law enforcement to eradicate criminal behavior and put an end to this violence. But we will achieve nothing with a war of words and no real discussion. Our communities remain desperate for resources and services to offer alternatives to violence for our youth, and not addressing this very real need serves no one. The loss of after school programs, resources for local volunteer groups, and little education and job placement services must be discussed as part of the answer to go along with law enforcement.

As I stated to Ms. Morgan, I will do my part to support her family, and strongly encourage any witnesses to come forward with information that will lead to the arrest of those responsible.

Statemant from Senator Rev Ruben Diaz:

“I wish I could find a way to offer some comfort to the family and neighbors of 4 year Lloyd Morgan.  My thoughts and prayers are with them. We cannot allow  the killing to continue.  We cannot allow the violence to continue. We cannot continue to tell parents of innocent victims “I’m sorry and I feel your pain,”  while practically giving criminals and thugs a carte blanche to continue with these shootings.

I understand that there are many people that will not go along with my decision to support the Stop and Frisk Policy but if the Stop and Frisk policy can make a difference, then we need to realize that it’s time to support Stop and Frisk,  and that a life such as Little Lloyd Morgan is worth more than  anyone feeling discomfort by being stopped and searched by the police.